Kodiak resident, senators frustrated over federal VA health care program A Kodiak resident says a new program to deliver health care to veterans across the nation has left him frustrated, while two senators say it has jeopardized a system it used for a model, triggering outrage from vets. Alaska’s network, built of necessity in a massive state where many communities are accessible only by plane or boat, allowed veterans to receive care closer to home, regardless of whether the faciliti...

Troopers seek owner of gun found in parking lotState troopers are looking for the owner of a firearm found in the parking lot of Heitman Lake Trailhead. A trooper report said Kodiak resident Autumn Hanson, 28, found a firearm in the parking lot at around noon on June 13. Hanson left the firearm where she found it in hopes the owner would return after realizing it was missing. When Hanson returned from hiking about four hours later, she found the gun in the sam...

Government overreach is palpable everywhereAfter a recent trip to Fairbanks it has become very apparent that government overreach is everywhere. We stayed with friends on a county road, where both sides of the paved road were torn up 6 feet deep and 12 to 20 feet wide as the crews were removing soil, so they could backfill with gravel. Interestingly, we also saw the soon-to-be $3-million bike path that starts nowhere and goes three miles and ends at a dead...

Bright spots despite bleak salmon global sales As Alaska’s salmon season heads into high gear, a few bright spots are surfacing in an otherwise bleak global sales market. Sales and prices for all salmon, especially sockeye, have been in a slump all year. And amid an overall glut of wild and farmed fish, Alaska is poised for another huge salmon haul, with the largest run of sockeye salmon in 20 years predicted along with a mega-pack of pinks. Meanwhile, the tou...

Thomet off the pace at Brooks PRThe two-mile run at the Brooks PR Invitational was as fast as advertised Saturday in Seattle, Washington. Kodiak’s Levi Thomet did his best to stay up front, but finished in ninth with a time of 8 minutes, 58.60 seconds, 10 seconds off his personal-best time set earlier this season at the Simplot Games in Idaho. Eleven of the 13 runners all dipped under nine minutes, while the top three ran under the meet record o...

The truth about liceLast week, I noticed a Facebook post by someone who’d planted a pepper plant in her greenhouse, and now she was dealing with an aphid infestation. “What should I do?” she said. Aphids suck. Literally. They suck the life out of plants while creating an icky, sticky mess in the process. Aphids, sometimes called plant lice, are one of the most common insects that can attack indoor, garden, greenhouse and landscape pl...

Nine fin whales found dead near Kodiak Island, biologists sayAt least nine fin whales have been found floating dead in a small area around Kodiak Island since the last week of May in what mammal specialists described as an “unusual and mysterious event.” Boaters, fishermen and pilots have reported seeing floating dead whales from Kodiak to Unimak Pass and biologists have photographed and confirmed the deaths of at least nine. But the exact numbers are still unknown. “They d...

Weight limits on ferry dock restrictedWeight restrictions on the Pier 1 ferry dock have been lowered, cut in half for tandem axles, but shouldn’t affect most passengers, according to the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. Jeremy Woodrow, a spokesman for ADOT&PF, said the dock was inspected in the last few months. “Our historic data showed that the load restrictions on the terminal needed to be look at and there needed to be an update ...

Volunteers work to move donated World War II searchlight from Oregon to Kodiak A bunker in Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park used to contain a searchlight used during World War II, and two volunteers are trying to bring one to Kodiak to place in the park. Retired school teacher Nancy and retired machinist and tool-and-die maker Chuck Meitle live in Oregon but are volunteering at Fort Abercrombie for their fourth summer. While in Oregon, they spotted a bunch of searchlights in a field an...

Rohrer hired as new director of student activitiesOne of Debbie Rohrer’s goals when she graduated from Kodiak High School was to someday work in the school’s athletic department. She can now check off one of her goals. Rohrer is the Kodiak Island Borough School District’s new director of student activities, a job that encompasses athletics and activities at the high school. “My plan was to always come back to Kodiak and I wanted to coach at the high school and be...